Could NBA expand to Europe before returning to Seattle?

Seattle may soon face competition not just from U.S. cities for an NBA team, but also from the likes of London and Paris.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Saturday reportedly said he is “open” to expanding the league into Europe. According to the New England Sports Network, the idea was recently floated by Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, whose team has been fingered as a potential target for relocation to Seattle.

If London or Paris were to get an NBA team before Seattle … well, we don’t want to even imagine how Sonics fans would react.

“We’re open to it,” Silver told journalist Malcolm Gladwell on Saturday in Boston, as reported by NESN. “Right now, putting aside logistical issues, I don’t think Europe is ready for it (as far as venues). They have some facilities and the arena situation is close to being in place, but we’re some ways off.”

Meanwhile, Seattle waits in the wings with an arena plan in pocket. Last May, the NBA rejected a plan by investor Chris Hansen to purchase the Sacramento Kings and relocate them to a proposed basketball and hockey venue in the Sodo neighborhood.

The chances of the Sonics’ return to Seattle appear to be getting slimmer and slimmer. During his interview Saturday at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at MIT, Silver reportedly included Las Vegas, San Diego and Kansas City along with Seattle as potential cities for NBA expansion or relocation.

“I’m very sympathetic to the city of Seattle,” Silver said, according to NESN. “We had a team there the large portion of my time I’ve been with the league. I hope we get back there some day, but right now I’m responsible for our 30 teams, not all of which are economically healthy.”

Yet in a development that may prove the most disturbing to Seattle fans, Silver appears to be continuing Stern’s lighthearted attitude toward a city whose fans still feel deeply wronged by the Sonics’ departure in 2008.

On Saturday, Silver all but confirmed suspicions that his predecessor, David Stern, held a personal grudge against Seattle and used the city to threaten current NBA towns if they didn’t cooperate with the league’s wishes.